UK Diary, Day 6

In which we worshiped at St Paul's Cathedral, hoofed it to British Museum, meandered through Kensington Gardens, and were silent before Big Ben.

Hello from the English rail line! I am writing on the train from London to Manchester. Yesterday was a full day of walking (including through Kensington Gardens, which gave us the photograph above of Hilda on a fallen tree trunk). So much so that evidently my body needed extra rest and did not wake up at my normal time of around 5 am. That wee hour has been my golden hour for writing this diary. Make a cup of tea or three, nibble on bread with butter, and the clickety-clack of typing on my laptop. Here is what this moment looks like:

And currently Hilda has moved from nursing to playing with her brother. I hope their play continues for a while. Here is some more wisdom from Evelyn Underhill:

“Since the Christian revelation is in it very nature historical—God coming the whole way to man, and discovered and adored within the arena of man’s life at one point in time, in and through the Humanity of Christ—it follows that all the historical events and conditions of Christ’s life form part of the vehicle of revelation. Each of them mediates God, disclosing some divine truth or aspect of divine love to us. Here lies the importance of the Christian year, with its recurrent memorials of the Birth, the Manhood, the Death and the Triumph of Jesus, as the framework of the Church’s ordered devotion. . . . In Christ, and therefore in all the states and acts of Christ, historical and eternity meet.” (Worship)

Here follows the account of yesterday in London:

Yesterday began with worship in St Paul’s Cathedral. We attended Morning Prayer and Mass, which began at 7:30 am, in a side area which seemed to be considered a Lady Chapel, as the only decoration was a statue of Our Lady holding Our Lord. These were both quiet services, although there were about 20 people in attendance for both. These were good to do, and it is always good to worship in the beauty of holiness. I would have liked to hear a brief sermon from the priest during the Mass, but, like at All Saints’ Margaret Street the night before, there was no sermon after the Gospel, but instead an “introduction” at the beginning of the Mass of about 90 seconds, which mentioned the Gospel reading and called us to worship. I know this is a custom during “low” Masses, but I do not prefer it. Preach the Gospel!

Afterwards, we walked around the Cathedral. It is enormous and often beautiful. Here are some photographs:

We also walked around the Crypt one level down, but honestly there was not much that grabbed our attention. We exited the Cathedral and headed toward our next stop, the British Museum, to which we chose to walk down Holburn, about a 30 minute walk.

Along Holburn, we found a lovely church called St Andrew’s, Holburn. It was designed by Christopher Wren, responsible for many churches in London including St Paul’s Cathedral. We went inside St Andrew’s and snapped some photographs:

There was a curiously little door. Anyone know what it might have been for?

Loved all the icons, both at St Andrew’s and St Paul’s Cathedral, as well as at All Saints’, Margaret Street the day before. One of my refrains is that Anglican need icons, and finding them in Anglican parishes and cathedrals brings me genuine consolation and a sense of deep grounding.

We left St Andrew’s, and found our way to the British Museum. There were tons of people milling outside, and of course, inside the museum. We got inside and decided to focus on ancient Egypt and Anglo-Saxon England. First, ancient Egypt:

I was particularly pleased to find this limestone depiction of S. Dorotheus, as I am currently reading a book of his writings and sayings.

That last one depicts the Three Holy Youths (Shadrack, Meshach, and Abednago) in the Fiery Furnace; one of my favorite images from Scripture.

And next, Anglo-Saxon England, which also included items from the Continent. First is S. Peter and S. John the Baptist:

Again, much consolation seeing both S. Nicholas and S. Martin of Tours! The next photograph was of a Chrismatory. Explanation follows:

Above is S. George, killing the dragon. What follows . . . no idea.

The roundel below is worth reading about in the description that follows.

We had enough of the British Museum, and found a cafe near the museum for tea and snack. Mine was a proper scone with clotted cream and jam, which was delicious:

Here’s Izzi’s latte:

We then wanted to walk freely in the outdoors and find a place for Martin and Hilda to walk and play as well. We decided to take a Tube to Kensington Gardens and walk the whole of it to Big Ben. I was just what the doctor ordered, not only for the little but for all of us. The cloudy day turned sunny by the end of our walk, which was at least two hours, maybe more. Some snaps:

Before arriving at Big Ben, we stopped at Buckingham Palace (you know the place where the King lives). We all needed a break from walking.

Finally we reached Big Bend, and it happened that we got there just in time to hear the 6 pm bell ringing. It was a fitting end to our day out and about London.

That last photograph with Martin on my shoulders was during the bell ringing. After that concluded, we made our way back to our hostel near St Paul’s, and hit a pizza spot nearby for a simple and easy supper. Some of us went to the Sainsbury’s local grocery shop for a couple of things (including dark chocolate for dessert), and then we returned and shortly went to bed. Today we will be in Wales for a bit and then we head to our home for the next eleven days: the Walcot Hall estate in Shropshire. Till tomorrow (assuming I am able to find wi-fi).